Weight of the World
by uoduck
Summary: Rick gains an unusual partner on his way to Atlanta. This will be Rick/Harry.
1. Chapter 1

AN: So... finally here's my Harry/Rick story. Sorry for the wait. I just wasn't happy with the first few drafts of it.

As always, I don't own either Walking Dead or Harry Potter.

* * *

"I suppose this barn would make a good resting spot for a few hours," Harry commented quietly as they hovered in the air.

Flint's strong wings beat through the air, having no problem staying in the air like they were. These days, Harry preferred to stay in the air while he assessed the area that they would be landing in. Even though he was very much adequate with magic and the sword of Griffindor, he didn't really want to fight. Brought back too many bad memories.

However, if his little family was threatened... he would fight. He would do what needed to be done. He knew that now, after 20 years of fighting that bastard, he would do anything to keep his friends and family safe. And that had included Draco's parents. He remembered Narcissa giving him an Abraxan yearling as a gift.

Flint neighed quietly, bringing Harry out of his memories. He peered down to the ground and extended his magic over the ground, looking for any evidence of walkers. When he found none, he was about to guide Flint down when they heard a loud answering neigh.

Flint's ears perked up and his wings beat even faster.

"Alright. Let's go then," Harry said, chuckling quietly. "I know it's been a while since you've seen another horse."

Harry guided Flint down, making sure his disillusionment charms were holding on Flint's wings. Harry had asked Narcissa, _how the hell am I suppose to look after a horse? I know nothing about them!_ She had suggested going to ask Madam Maxine about the Abraxans. He remembered peering up at Madam Maxine with a bewildered expression and explaining that he knew nothing about taking care of animals, let alone a horse with wings. He didn't even know how to ride in the first place. She had laughed for a good minute or so before telling him that she would teach him.

That had been three years ago and what felt like a lifetime ago. The dead had risen and Harry still wasn't sure what had caused it or where and when it started. He only knew that magic still worked against the eaters and he was beyond grateful. If magic hadn't worked against them, he wouldn't have known what to do to kill them. Granted, he was pretty good with his sword but magic was a life saver in some situations.

They slowly landed on the ground and Harry dismounted, swinging off of Flint's back while minding his wings. Flint whinnied a little towards where they had heard the other horse but waited until Harry had removed the saddle and saddlebags. Harry looked around the area where he had chosen then went to investigate the house and barn.

The former inhabitants of the house had stayed and killed themselves with two rifles. And they had shot themselves in the head so they hadn't turned right after they had died. Harry sighed, taking care to not breathe in too much from the slightly open window. He had come across people who had decided to not deal with the world as it was now. He could understand; it wasn't every century that people had had to deal with the dead coming back to life and eating people.

Harry strode back to the barn where he had left Flint, who was starting to get anxious. The Abraxan winged horse was fidgeting a little, picking up his front left hoof and pawing at the ground.

"Hold on. Let me untack you," Harry called over, walking over to the horse and leading him into the barn. He flicked his wand at the barn door to open it and waited until there was enough room for both him and Flint to go in then left the door partially open.

There were a few stalls on one side of the aisle then there were big piles of straw and other kinds of grains that horses would normally eat. One of the stalls had a saddle and bridle in the western style of riding and Harry assumed that they were meant for the horse outside. The halter that Harry could see had the name, Grace, on it. Harry led Flint over to one stall and started to untack the horse, putting everything inside the stall across from them. After looking Flint over and grooming him, he finger-combed Flint's wings, getting dirt particles out of the strong limbs. Flint shook, whinnying excitedly.

Harry laughed quietly. He knew that Flint loved whenever his wings got cleaned out. And he hated having anything in them. Blood was the worst and the hardest to get out. And after the first few days of whatever the fuck this was, blood had accumulated everywhere from Flint's saddle and Harry's clothing. Luckily, neither one of them had been scratched or bitten.

"Okay, you big bird. Come on," Harry muttered, clipping a lead onto Flint's halter and guiding him out to where the other horse was. Flint pinned his ears back and kicked Harry lightly with his hoof.

Harry rolled his eyes at Flint's playful mood.

Flint glared at him then turned to stare at the other horse. It was a horse with chestnut coloring but with a sprinkling of white in its coat and with white socks. It whinnied back at Flint, who trembled excitedly.

Harry used a little magic to open the gate and released Flint, unhooking the halter and pulling it off. He closed the gate and watched as the one regular horse and one Abraxan became acquainted with each other.

"Have fun," Harry muttered, smiling as the two horses sniffed at each other. They huffed at each other then took off running around the pasture.

* * *

After a few hours, Harry was just getting ready to go when he heard a car drive up. It was around late morning and both horses had gotten along with each other, their heads around each other's necks. He was actually pondering taking the other horse, as there was no one alive around to take care of her. Flint could do with a companion but Harry couldn't... He did have an extra charmed duffel bag that was empty. Harry could probably stuff a few barrels of hay into it.

He glanced over to where he had put Flint's saddle and saddle bags and pulled out the sword of Gryffindor from his belongings. He had realized early on that it might have been better for him to go around armed rather than looking like he wasn't carrying a weapon at all, regardless of the fact that he didn't need any weapon. And he much preferred a silent weapon to guns. Though it wasn't like he had always carried the sword; it had come to him a week into the disaster.

He strode out of the barn and looked around, spotting the police car in the driveway. There was a man walking around the house, looking into the building. He also spotted a gas can that was lying on the driveway, probably empty if Harry was to guess. Harry watched as the guy, probably an ex-police officer judging by his uniform, spotted the only car on the property and went to check it out. The guy looked like he used to be a police officer too, if the way he walked was any indication. Harry was about to hurry back into the barn to finish tacking up Flint when the guy walked over to the horse corral.

Flint trotted over to the fence, followed by Grace. Harry started over, worried that Flint was about to start getting all protective. The Abraxan didn't let anyone other than Harry pet him as Flint was very possessive about his rider. Flint was a little like hippogriffs in that way but a lot more defensive.

But as soon as the former police officer stopped by the gate, Flint didn't pin his ears back. Flint's body wasn't stiff, nor did the winged horse curl his upper lip. Grace was more sedate in her greeting, like she was trying to show who was boss in not reacting at all to the new guy.

Harry stared, blinking a little, as the other man reached out to stroke Flint's neck. Flint allowed it, even turning to present more of his neck.

"He likes you," Harry remarked, walking over to the gate to stand alongside the other man. Flint whinnied a little and trotted over to Harry, who rolled his eyes.

The other man turned to look at him then at the horse. "You the owner of these horses?"

"Only this one," Harry answered. "I think the owners killed themselves."

The man winced then looked Harry over, gaze stopping at the sword that was in Harry's right hand. "I saw that. Just passing through then?"

Harry nodded, looking the man over. The man had short curly black hair and really blue eyes. Quite attractive in Harry's opinion. There was a revolver in the guy's gun holster at his hip, along with the usual belt owned by a police officer. "Flint, that's my horse, wanted to play with another horse so... here we are."

The man smiled and looked at the other horse, a little considering. "I'm heading to Atlanta."

"Looking for people?" Harry guessed.

"Wife and son."

Harry sighed but looked at Flint then at the guy. "Need a partner?"

The guy stared at him, raising an eyebrow.

"I've got nothing better to do," Harry explained then grinned a little. "And my horse likes you."

"Alright. I'm Rick Grimes."

"Harry Potter."

* * *

"Do you have family?" Rick asked as they started off. They rode alongside each other in the hot weather, leaving the barn and home filled with two dead people behind. Harry had thrown four barrels of hay and a few buckets of grain into his empty, charmed duffel for Grace to eat. He figured that it would be pretty easy to find more hay along the way since it was horse country here in Georgia. He had also thrown in some grooming supplies and two spare halters and lead ropes, just in case.

Rick had a duffel bag full of weapons slung over his shoulder. Harry could see shotguns and rifles and the bag probably had a lot of ammo in it too, if the police label stitched into the front of it was any indication.

"If you don't count four legged creatures, then no," Harry replied idly, feeling Flint's wings rustle anxiously. Flint wanted to fly but since they were riding with Rick, Harry figured that wouldn't be possible. And he was pretty sure that Rick wasn't a wizard. His magic would have told him otherwise.

Rick grimaced, glancing down at Flint then up at Harry. "I'm sorry."

"My family was dead long before the world ended," Harry commented. "So it's been a while."

"He do well with the walkers?" Rick asked, gesturing to Flint.

"Sort of. As long as we're not near a herd," Harry said. "Though he hates the way they smell."

"I think that's common," Rick replied.

"You're right about that," Harry said, grimacing. "They stink."

Rick grinned.

* * *

"Did England have the same... problem?" Rick asked after a few hours. They had stopped underneath a few trees for shade and to let the horses drink from a small creek.

"I haven't actually been to England for... a long time," Harry commented, stroking Flint's neck as he drank. Harry glanced up at the sun and noted the position in the sky, directly above them, and felt his stomach start to growl. He dug around in his food bag for a snack and came up with two apples. "Apple?"

"Thanks," Rick said, taking the proffered fruit and taking a bite. "There a reason for that?"

The horses finished drinking so they got back on the road. Harry looked around as they grew nearer to Atlanta. There were plenty of cars that had gotten abandoned on the road and some had distinct blood stains on the windows. He sighed and glanced back to Rick, who was also surveying the road.

"Yep and that is a long story," Harry answered as they moved onto the highway. Cars continued to fill the outgoing highway from Atlanta and Harry had yet to see any walkers. His magic wasn't alerting him to anything, either. It worried him a little but maybe... maybe Atlanta had gotten cleaned out? Flint wasn't reacting to anything either, his wings fluttering occasionally at his side. "Complicated too."

* * *

"You looked like you weren't used to... this," Harry started after a few minutes of companionable silence.

Rick sighed and glanced at him. "I was in a coma for a few months."

"Hmm. So you missed the first couple months then?" Harry asked as they crossed a bridge over a freeway. Atlanta seemed to have a lot of roads and 100% of them were deserted more or less. There were blood stains all over the roads and Harry was starting to get creeped out. Well, even more creeped out than normal. The horses were getting slightly anxious, tails swishing back and fourth. Harry looked over the side of the bridge, noted the railroads below.

"Yeah, woke up in the hospital."

"That sounds... fun," Harry remarked dryly, putting his right hand on his sword hilt and bringing it out to lay on the saddle.

They passed through a military checkpoint and Harry could see a few bodies of soldiers on the ground. The helicopter that they passed had a dead pilot in the front seat, gun shot wound in the guy's head.

"You could say that," Rick replied as they passed by a bus. Flint picked up his neck and his wings went stiff and Harry's magic was alerting him to two eaters in the bus. Grace's ears flicked forward and she whinnied anxiously, sidestepping a little. Rick and Harry both looked over into the bus and exchanged apprehensive glances. "It's just a few. Nothing we can't outrun."

Harry nodded. "You know about herds right?"

"Yeah. I was found by a man right by my house after I left the hospital. He explained," Rick said.

They continued to walk, granted, it was a quicker walk than before. Harry stared at the tank as they stood in front of it, nose wrinkling at the smell of the dead soldier on top of the main gun. There were a few other dead soldiers lying around on the ground all over the street. Crows had flow over to peck at their bodies and Harry nudged Flint over to the tank and used his sword to shoo the bird away.

Rick glanced at him, nodded a little, as if in approval.

Flint whinnied quietly but glanced up in the air as if... "You hear that?"

"Yep," Harry said, looking up too. They both looked around at the sky, searching for the helicopter. Both of them took off, cantering toward the sound. Harry didn't know where the helicopter was in the sky but he could definitely hear it now. It sounded like it was in trouble but then again, Harry wasn't an expert on helicopters.

They were about to turn onto a different street when Harry's magic flared, the biggest alarm that he had ever felt from it.

"Rick! Stop!"

Harry coaxed Flint to a trot and saw Rick do the same for Grace and just in time. There was a herd of walkers in the street, hundreds of walkers in front of them. Grace reared, whinnied loudly, and as Rick managed to stay on, Harry drew his wand and muttered some words. Flint's wings began to beat fast, kicking up a small wind around them. The walkers were just 'waking', just taking notice of them when a bright blue shimmering wall of light erupted between Rick and Harry and the walkers.

Rick turned to stare at Harry, more than a little bewildered.

"Come on! That won't last long," Harry said, already wheeling Flint around. He heard Grace wheel around and the two men started off at a gallop, back the way they came. Harry could feel his shield strain against the giant horde of eaters and just as Harry and Rick had to stop before the tank, the shielding broke. Loud hissing and growling filled the streets.

"What the hell was that?" Rick asked.

"That was..." Harry trailed off, frantically looking around for a possible escape route. The eaters grew closer, moaning and shuffling toward them. Harry was about to give up and suggest that Rick move over to ride behind him and abandon Grace, a crackling sound made him startle. He looked over at Rick, a little bewildered. The other man looked at him then his eyes widened.

Rick turned behind him and searched through the duffle bag on the back of the horse, searching for something. Harry maneuvered Flint to stand in front of Grace, blocking the way for the eaters until Rick found what he was looking for. He drew his sword and got ready to stab at any eaters that came too close to him. Flint's ears were pinned back and Harry could feel the winged horse shift his weight, preparing to kick out with his hooves.

When he heard a clicking sound, one that sounded suspiciously like it came from a radio, he turned briefly. Rick had pulled out a portable radio and was staring at it, confused.

"Hey, you two cowboys!"

Harry's eyes widened and he stabbed at an eater that had gotten just close enough. It fell though not before splattering blood and guts on him and Flint's invisible wings. Harry shuddered and he could feel Flint shudder too. Harry pulled out his wand and whispered a blasting charm and watched as the eaters that were just surrounding them flew back a few feet.

"Can you see us?" Rick called through the radio, guiding Grace to back up slowly up against the tank. Harry steered Flint to follow and kept an eye on Grace as the other horse quivered with fear. She was just a minute away from rearing and that would not help in their situation. Harry glanced at the eaters then drew out his wand and whispered a spell or two. A blind fold, created by cloth that wouldn't be see-through, appeared in mid-air and wrapped itself around Grace's eyes. Flint backed up to stand right next to the other horse, guided by Harry, who reached out for Grace's reins. Rick looked at him then down at the blind fold, nodded and let go of the reins.

Harry picked up Grace's reins and held on tightly to them, knowing that Flint would listen to Harry's legs as well as the reins.

"Where are you?"

"Not important. I can see you and you two are surrounded by walkers. That's the bad news."

Flint kicked out with his hind hooves and Harry stood up in the saddle, letting the horse stretch out with his hooves. Flint hit an eater right in the head, cracking the walking corpse's head right open and causing even more blood to splatter onto them.

"There's good news?" Rick muttered anxiously and eyeing Harry with caution.

"Listen, whoever you are, I don't mind telling you we're a little concerned out here," Rick said, raising his voice to be heard over the creatures.

"A little concerned?" Harry muttered, stabbing another eater in the head as it attempted to take a chomp out of Flint's body. It went down with a thud and a thump, coincidentally taking out another one at the same time. "We're cornered here."

"Oh man. You should see it from over here. You'd be having a major freak-out," the person replied through the radio.

"Got any advice for us?" Rick asked.

"Yeah, I'd say make a run for it."

"That's it? 'Make a run for it'?" Rick repeated incredulously. Harry felt the same way, there was no way out of this crowd of eaters unless he blew a hole through them.

"My way's not as dumb as it sounds. Your friend can do whatever he just did a minute ago and blast a hole through the walkers. You've got eyes on the outside here. With me so far?"

"So far," Rick agreed, looking at Harry with a question in his eyes.

Harry nodded, slicing another eater's head off then stowing his sword. He closed his eyes briefly, gathering his magic, then opened them. "Later, I'll explain later."

"Okay, the street on the other side of the tank is less crowded. If you move now while they're distracted, you stand a chance."

"Distracted by what?" Harry asked, raising his voice to be heard over the radio.

"By you doing what you just did," Rick realized. "Whatever that is."

"Okay, here goes nothing," Harry muttered, raising his wand to point at the eaters surrounding them. "This might be loud so get ready to move."

Harry released Grace's reins in preparation, watched Rick pick them back up.

"There's an alley up the street, maybe 50 yards. It's covered by a bus. Be there."

"Hey, what's your name?" Rick asked, in the last second before Harry muttered the blasting charm and pulled a good portion of his magic for a big ranged charm. The spell shot out from his wand and hit the eaters with a loud boom, pushing all of them back thirty feet and creating an aisle for the two of them to move through.

"Have you been listening? You're running out of time. I see more walkers coming. Go!"

"Right. Let's move!"

The two of them guided their horses to a gallop, steering them between the still 'dazed' eaters and out past them.

"There!" Harry said, reaching out to point at the bus. They slowed their horses to a canter then down to a walk and Harry moved to stop in front of the bus, murmuring a quiet charm to move the bus.

"Hurry!"

The bus took a second but it moved just enough for the both of them to squeeze through. Harry waved Rick on through then returned the bus to its original spot, closing off the alley to the eaters. Sweat trickled down his forehead and he could feel sweat on his back too. He could feel Rick staring at him then glanced over at Grace, who was trembling all over. Flint wasn't doing too much better, still disillusioned wings rustling anxiously.

Harry dropped Flint's reins on the floor, ground tying him before going over to Grace. He stroked the horse's head while whispering reassurances and catching his own breath.

"In here!"

Harry and Rick both turned at the voice. There was a younger man, who looked maybe Korean, standing in front of a door and he was waving at them.

They both dismounted and led their horses over to him.

"Nice moves there, Clint Eastwood," the guy said, looking them both over.

"You guys the new sheriffs come riding in to clean up the town?

"It wasn't my intention," Rick said.

"Auror," Harry muttered and the two other men looked at him in confusion. "Nothing. Nevermind. I certainly wasn't coming to clean up the city. I'm just riding with him."

"Yeah, whatever. Yeehaw. You're still dumbasses."

"Rick. Thanks."

"Glenn. You're welcome."

"I don't know about your horses but come in," Glenn said, gesturing to the store behind him. He turned to open the door and walked inside.

Harry looked at the door then at Rick, who raised an eyebrow. Harry flicked his wand and pulled some magic, watched the doors open wide enough for them to walk into the store, along with their horses. The two of them then strode through the widened doors, relief in both of their eyes.


	2. Chapter 2

Harry started as the blond woman in the group pulled a gun and pointed it at the both of them. He casually stepped in front of Flint, reaching behind him to stroke the horse's muzzle. He glanced behind them at the dozens of walkers that were scrambling at the doors, trying to get in. Harry shuddered at their dead eyes and felt Flint nudge his back with his nose.

"Andrea! Don't!"

"Why shouldn't I?" the blond woman called back to the man who had spoken. "These guys have doomed us."

"Andrea, I saw them coming down the road!" A younger man in a cap exclaimed, looking at Rick and Harry.

"Glenn, just because you saw them coming down the road, doesn't mean-"

"These guys just led the walkers right to this department store," the blond woman argued.

"I didn't think there was anyone in here," Harry offered, slipping his sword back into its' sheathe slowly.

"What did you think you were going to do anyway?" the first man to have spoken asked, coming to stand behind Andrea. "Well, pull the trigger or don't."

Andrea glared at them both, sighed wearily then lowered her gun. "We're never going to be able to get out now."

"We were following the helicopter," Rick explained, glancing over at Harry then back at the group of people.

"Helicopter? Man, there wasn't a helicopter," the black man spoke, looking at them as if they were crazy. "We would have heard it."

"There was," Rick retorted. "Then we ran into the herd just over there."

"Literally," Harry added, shrugging a little.

"On horseback?" Glenn asked, raising an eyebrow. "Like a sheriff coming to clean out the town?"

Harry chuckled quietly. "More or less. Though it looks like Atlanta's been overrun."

"My car ran out of gas," Rick answered. "I was heading to the refugee center in Atlanta."

"That's a pipe dream. The military blockade was overrun a month ago. I'm Morales," the guy with the black hair said.

"We were just going to go in, get supplies then get out," Andrea retorted. "Now that plan is scrapped."

"What was that blue-" Glenn was interrupted by a gunshot.

"Fuck, was that..."

"Dixon!"

Harry narrowed his eyes as yet another gunshot was heard. He turned and looked Grace over, as the group raced further into the department store and up the stairs. The mare was trembling, the whites of her eyes showing. He took a step closer toward her and started to stroke her neck, whispering reassuring words.

Rick stayed, glancing at him then at the horses.

"Go. I'll look after them. Gunshots will bring even more walkers here," Harry urged. "I'll catch up in a few minutes. Those doors won't hold for too much longer."

The other man needed no more encouragement and started off after the others. Harry glanced at the two horses, one winged and one non-magical horse, and sighed.

"I'm not going to untack either of you right now," Harry muttered, drawing out two carrots and feeding them to the animals. "I need to go, okay? Stay here."

Flint whinnied quietly, dropped his head on Harry's shoulder briefly then took a few steps to be closer to Grace.

Harry nodded, glanced at the doors then made sure his sword was easily accessible and took off to go join Rick and the others.

The shouts coming from the roof were more than a little alarming but Harry quietly walked up the stairs and opened the door that led outside. The group of people that they had happened on was huddled on one side of the roof while a man was standing on a set of cement blocks, making him higher than everyone else. Rick was crouching on his feet off to the side, like he had gotten pushed back or punched.

Harry stared at the guy, studied him for a few seconds. The guy looked like he was lording being the leader of the group and like he was enjoying the fearful looks in the others eyes. Harry figured that to be more fear of the shotgun and the fact that the guy was stoned, if Harry was any judge.

"Hey! Y'all be more polite to a man with a gun! Huh? Ah! Only common sense," the guy said, eyeing the group. Harry was still partially hidden behind the door so the guy couldn't see him. But Rick could as the other man's gaze landed on him. Rick raised an eyebrow, looking at Harry before gesturing to the guy with the shotgun.

Harry nodded, guessing what Rick had in mind, and then stepped out of the door and drawing his sword. The sound of steel sliding out of its sheath drew everyone's attention, eyes shifting to him as he swung his sword in a circle, almost lazily.

"You want to drop your gun?" Harry asked, looking over at the guy. "Do you want to get swarmed by walkers, you asshole?"

Rick made his move then, just when everyone's attention was drawn away from him.

* * *

"You're not from Atlanta, are you?" Morales asked them.

Rick shook his head as they looked over the street below. "I'm from up the road a ways."

"Here and there," Harry answered as his gaze went to the construction vans at the end of the road. They could see the multiple military roadblocks from up here, too.

"You sound like you're from England though," Glenn said.

"Well, yeah, I was born in England. Haven't been there in a long time however," Harry replied.

"You ever thought of using the sewers?" Rick asked, looking at Morales then at Glenn.

"No but... Glenn, go look for manholes," Morales said.

* * *

Harry went over to check on the horses, petting their necks briefly before glancing out through the building. That military blockade might have more weapons. He didn't need any but then again, something could come in handy. He glanced at the backroom where Glenn and Rick were getting ready to go out, under the guise of walkers. Harry sighed, rummaged in one of his saddlebags for his cloak and drew it over him.

He made sure no one was watching before he apparated, landing right next to the tank. A walker growled a few inches from him, nearly making him jump before shuffling on its way. Harry shuddered then climbed up the tank and opened the tank window hole and jumping in. He dispatched the lone walker in it with a quick cutting charm before looking around for any possible weapons.

He spotted a grenade and grabbed that before taking the gun from the dead soldier. After looking around for anymore weapons, he cautiously hopped out of the tank and apparated back into the department store.

* * *

AN: I know this is short but the next chapters will be longer. I just had two quick questions for you guys.

In the long run, who do you guys want to be paired with Daryl? It could be anyone from the cast of the Walking Dead(excluding Rick obviously) or anyone from the cast of Harry Potter and it could be either a man or woman.

And... I've debated this for a few days. Do you guys want Merle to be gotten off the roof?


	3. Chapter 3

AN: I would totally write this as a triad of harry/daryl/rick, but as readers wanted just a harry/rick story, I'm going with it. For the record though, I already have another plot bunny for the three of them and that's aside from Bad Blood.

* * *

"Good luck," Harry said as Glenn and Rick stepped over to the back door of the department store.

"Thanks," Rick replied, nodding at the others before he and Glenn slipped out the back door.

Harry stared at the two of them and at the two walkers that were in between them and the bus. They were too far away for a cutting charm and Harry didn't want to hit Rick or Glenn by accident. When the others turned to go back to the roof, Harry joined them and stopped to check in with the horses.

Flint was standing right next to Grace, both of their necks around the other. Flint whinnied when he saw him and Harry smiled, stroking Flint's muzzle.

"We're close to getting out of here, okay?" Harry whispered, sticking his head into Flint's mane. Grace whickered quietly, still more than a little nervous. He looked over at the doors where the walkers were still growling and hissing. One of them had found a big rock and was hitting it against the glass doors. It was a miracle that the doors were holding this long as another walker slowly picked up a rock. If the doors didn't hold, Harry would have to find out just how strong his wards were.

* * *

"They're leaving us! They're leaving us!"

Harry shook his head. "I don't know Rick really well but I don't think he would leave without a good reason."

Andrea turned to look at him, narrowing her eyes.

Morales nodded. "He's right."

Harry dipped his head in a nod.

Glenn's voice came through the radio, telling them to wait by the loading dock. The group all raced to the door down to the store with T-Dog staying behind to unlock the handcuffs on Merle. Harry was just about to start down the stairs when he heard a shout from behind him. And his wards started to flare, straining against holding the walkers. Harry stiffened, glancing at T-Dog as he came in through the door.

They exchanged looks. T-Dog looked at him briefly before turning away. Harry stared for a second, noting the way that T-Dog wouldn't meet his eyes, before racing back out onto the roof and stopping right before Merle.

Merle stared at him. "You gonna do something?"

Harry sighed and cast a quiet, wandless unlocking charm. The quiet click of the handcuffs unlocking felt like it was louder, louder than the car alarm, and Harry quickly turned to summon all the tools that T-Dog had left and scooped up the bag after they were all in. Merle stared at him, blinked then hastily pulled his hand out of the cuff and stood up.

"Come on. Let's get the hell out of here," Harry shouted then raced to the door and hurried down the stairs, hearing Merle follow. "Unless you want to be walker chow."

"The fuck was that?" Merle asked, raising his voice a little.

Harry made sure his sword and wand were within easy reach and led the way down the stairs, hearing Grace neigh loudly and the U-Haul van pull up to the loading bay. He winced and sped up, eying the hallway where everyone else had gone.

"Magic. Now go," Harry retorted, slipping away to go get the horses. "Tell Rick and the others that I'll catch up."

"The fuck is that?" Merle asked.

"GO."

* * *

Harry raced over to Flint just in time for Grace to rear in fright. He glanced over at the doors and flinched. His wards were flickering and a few of the walkers had just busted their way into the department store.

"Flint, go to the back of the store," Harry ordered urgently.

Flint stared at him, shook his wings and turned around. Harry turned to Grace and cautiously walked up to her, careful of her front legs.

"Grace... easy, come here."

Grace's eyes were full of white and wild, staring down at the incoming walkers. Her ears were pinned down too. Harry slowly reached out a hand to grab a hold of the reins, reaching out with his magic. Grace stared at him, focused on him and not on the walkers.

"Here, you're okay. I won't let you get chewed on."

Just as Grace hesitantly lowered her hooves, Harry heard a thunk.

He started and turned to see that Flint had stayed and kicked out with his hind legs at a walker. Since Abraxans were big, strong, and sturdy horses, the walker immediately went down, skull caved in. Blood and brain matter spattered onto Flint and Grace's coats and Harry's shirt. Some even made it onto Flint's wings and he huffed out a seemingly annoyed breath of air.

"I know you hate it when blood gets in your wings. I'll clean them later."

Harry snorted and heard the U-Haul van take off then jumped up onto Flint's back, narrowly avoiding the horse's wings. He grabbed Grace's reins, glad that he hadn't removed any saddlebags, and guided the two horses away from the now increasingly big herd of walkers. His wards had disappeared after he had focused on the horses and walkers were now pouring in.

Harry used some blasting charms to push any offending clothing racks out of the way and finally they reached the back loading door. It was still open but it wasn't open high enough for two horses and one rider to move through so Harry murmured a spell to lift the door and watched it rise up.

Harry impatiently watched the door, glancing back at where the walkers were coming. The big loading door finally opened high enough for the three of them and he coaxed Flint into a canter. Grace soon followed, easily keeping up with Flint. The van was long gone by now and Harry would have guided Flint into flying had it not been for Grace.

He really didn't want the mare to be walker chow.

* * *

Harry kept the two horses at a gallop for as long as he thought it was safe. They had escaped the large group of walkers a few minutes ago and now were galloping through the streets of Atlanta and finally taking the freeway exit that the van had taken.

Sweat was pouring down Harry's forehead and he used a rag that he had taken out of a saddlebag to wipe it down. Flint and Grace's coats were also shining with sweat but he couldn't do anything about it until they reached whatever camp that Glenn and the others had.

Grace had calmed down a few minutes after they had left the walkers behind.

* * *

They caught up with the van a few miles out of Atlanta as their surroundings grew into hills. There were a lot more trees surrounding the road now, offering some much appreciated shade. Harry hadn't seen any walkers since they had left Atlanta, which was a nice change. The sun was still beating down on them and Grace was breathing heavily. Flint wasn't even breathing heavily as his stamina was pretty high.

"Just a few more minutes," Harry muttered, watching the van turn a corner and park. The car alarm had been turned off a few minutes ago to his relief. He had used a little magic to muffle Grace and Flint's hearing so they wouldn't get too spooked.

As soon as they turned the next corner, Harry sighed in relief. The camp that Glenn had led them to was right in front of them. He could see a motorcycle and a few cars parked at what was essentially the entrance for an easy exit. Glenn was standing at the sports car's driver's seat and was talking with a taller black haired man. Morales was busy being hugged by what was probably his family, with two kids and a wife. Andrea was standing next to a younger woman that looked rather similar to her so Harry figured they were sisters. An older bald man was standing with the small group with a rifle slung over his shoulder.

Merle had ignored the group reunion to go past everyone and over to a pickup truck and an accompanying tent.

Harry guided the two horses up to the van's driver's side and slowed them to a stop from a trot. Rick was still sitting in there and staring up ahead at the camp.

"You okay?" Harry asked quietly.

Rick started a little at his voice and turned around in the seat. "Yeah. I just thought that I would find my wife and son."

Harry raised an eyebrow, nodding a little. "We'll find your family even if I have to..."

"Hey! Helicopter boy!"

They both turned at Morales' call. Harry chuckled quietly before nudging Flint and Grace away from the van door, letting Rick open it and step out.

Harry dismounted as he watched Rick step over to the other side of them. He stared out at the camp, noting the RV and the guy sitting on top of it with a rifle.

"Dad!"

Harry turned to look at the woman and boy that were standing away from the main group. Harry raised an eyebrow, glancing at Glenn, who shrugged. Harry watched as Rick ran toward the two and swept them up into what looked like a desperate embrace.

Harry sighed a little wistfully and turned to go. He didn't know what had happened to his friends or his godson. He knew they had said that they would join him in the States but he didn't... Their correspondence had been five weeks ago.

Harry led both horses over toward the older man, eying the rest of the camp. There were tents pitched around cars and a fire pit was in the middle, pots and pans strewn around it. There were kids running around, playing with balls. He raised an eyebrow at that but shrugged, knowing that some people probably were hanging on to life before. For him, going from one war to another... He was used to this kind of thing. Not the dead rising but the always on edge, always looking out for one another.

"Do your horses need water?"

Harry looked over at the older man. "If you guys have enough water..."

"There's a small lake down there," the man said, smiling a little and pointing to somewhere beyond the RV. "The water's cold but it'll do for them."

"Oh, that... Yeah, that's good. Thanks."

"I'm Dale," the man offered, holding out a hand.

"Harry. This is Flint and Grace." He pointed at each horse respectively.

Dale nodded. "If you need anything, holler."

"I... I don't know if I'm going to stay," Harry remarked, glancing over at Rick and his family. They were still together in a hug and Harry smiled a little before turning back to look at Dale. "I only came because I was going to help Rick find his family."

Dale raised an eyebrow. "You're more than welcome to stay."

"Okay, I'll think about it."

"Good enough."

* * *

Harry mounted Flint again and they trotted on the path, going downhill until the three of them saw the lake. "Oooh, that looks wonderful."

Flint and Grace both whinnied in excited agreement. Harry chuckled as both horses increased their pace, extending their stride until they were just a few inches short of hitting the water.

"Hold on, you two. Let me just..." Harry quickly dismounted and untacked both horses, dropping saddles, saddlebags and bridles on the ground. He carefully put Rick's bag of weapons aside from the others, not wanting the guns to be damaged. He left their halters on and after a moment of debate, cancelled the disillusionment charm on Flint's wings.

Flint neighed loudly, reared and took off into the water, white wings fluttering in the slight breeze. Grace took off more sedately into the water, whinnying happily. Harry rolled his eyes at the horses' antics. He didn't even think that Grace was that old, maybe five years old.

Harry watched the two for a few minutes before going over to the edge of the water and stripping off his shirt and boots. He inched in and sighed in relief, ignoring the temperature of the water.

He summoned a towel from his bags and used it to wash the blood, sweat and dirt off of himself. It had been a while since he had been able to relax his guard like this. It had been a while for Flint too as the Abraxan horse proceeded to use his wet wings to splash him.

Harry spluttered and glared at Flint. "Really?"

Flint huffed out a breath and whinnied quietly. Harry peered over at Flint to see Grace walking up to him through the water only to raise a hoof. He grinned as Grace kicked up some water onto Flint's back.

Flint pinned his ears back, bringing his wings closer to his body and turned toward the other horse.

"It's what you get," Harry commented, chuckling at Flint's betrayed look. He walked back to the edge of the water only to stop when he saw Rick standing at the foot of the hill. His son was with him too and both of their eyes were wide. The boy was gaping, jaw wide open.

"Harry?"

"Uh, I can explain?"


	4. Chapter 4

"Your horse has wings..." Rick started, raising an eyebrow.

Harry sighed, pulled on his shirt and stepped out of the water. "Yeah. It's a thing. A real thing."

"Coool," the kid whispered, taking a few steps toward Harry and the lake. The two horses had stopped playing to turn and stare at Rick and his son. Flint's wings beat slowly, anxiously but not as much as they did when walkers were around him, but the winged horse didn't do anything else.

"And who would you be?" Harry asked, walking up to Rick and glancing down at the kid. He idly noticed that the sun was nearing the other side of the sky, an hour or two away from going down.

"I'm Carl," the boy replied, eyes straying to the horses behind Harry.

"Nice to meet you, Carl," Harry said, watching as Carl took a step or two toward the horses.

"Carl, wait," Rick said.

"But Dad!" Carl exclaimed, gesturing to the horses. "It's a Pegu-"

"Whoa, hold it right there," Harry said. "Don't finish that sentence, okay? At least not within the horse's hearing."

Carl raised an eyebrow. "Why not?"

"Uh, Flint's easily offended?" Harry offered hesitantly, grinning a little. "Pegasus was... shall we say one of the lesser breeds of winged horses. Or well, at least, that's what Flint tends to think. He doesn't like to be compared with that horse."

"Think?" Carl repeated curiously.

"Breeds?" Rick echoed. "There are different breeds of winged horses?"

"Yes, to both questions. Flint's sentient, means he's intelligent enough," Harry explained then sighed. "Rick, do you remember that glowing light that appeared in between the walkers and us back in Atlanta?"

"Yeah..."

"There's a reason that you guys haven't seen winged horses before," Harry said, watching as Flint and Grace started to walk over toward them after drinking their fill of water. "Magic. It's also how I broke the handcuffs so that Merle could get off the roof with us."

"Magic."

Rick stared at him, narrowing his eyes. Harry watched as the other man reached out a hand to steer Carl closer to him.

"Magic?" Carl asked, peering up at Rick then at Harry. "It's really real?"

"Yeah, it's real," Harry answered, still returning Rick's stare. "Last I checked Flint was real so..."

Grace came over toward them and head butted Harry, whickering quietly. Flint closed the distance and went to stand next to Harry, putting his head over Harry's other shoulder.

"Why have we not heard anything about... this?" Rick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Salem witch trials," Harry started, reaching a hand out to stroke Flint's neck. "Carl, I think Flint would be okay with you coming up to him. If you wanted to, that is."

Carl grinned and looked up to Rick for permission.

"You said your horse was skittish with strangers?"

"He likes you," Harry commented, stepping aside from Flint and reaching into one of his saddle bags and picking out an apple. He whispered a charm and watched the apple as it was cut into small pieces. Rick and Carl both stared at him, with wide eyes. "Here, palm out. You can even feed Grace too. She's probably hungry too."

"What about the Salem witch trials?" Rick asked as they both watched as Flint lowered his head to sniff Carl's hand. The winged horse's ears were not pinned and his muscles were not strained or tensed at all. Flint's wings were still wet though and Harry could see little flecks of blood over the horse's coat and he glanced over to Grace only to see the same thing, only in her coat and mane.

"Wizards and witches wanted to hide themselves after that disaster," Harry explained, smiling as Flint accepted the offering and one of the horse's wings came around to hover near the kid. "So they moved and created spells to hide themselves. There was even a statute of secrecy, forbidding everyone from telling non-magical people about magic."

Rick stared at him, nodded a little apprehensively. "I can understand that, I suppose. What can you do besides what I've already seen?"

"Offensive magic like curses and hexes. Defensive spells like the one you saw and I can put up wards. I can heal too," Harry said. "I'm pretty good with animals also."

"You can heal?" Rick asked, studying him a little while occasionally glancing at Carl. The kid was standing in between Flint and Grace, letting them sniff him. Carl was smiling and he laughed when Flint made a snuffling noise around his ear. "Like a doctor?"

"Yeah. It's what wizards and witches call doctors. Healers," Harry answered, nodding and glancing up the edge of the cliff up to the RV. "We should probably get back up there. I can smell food being cooked and I need to groom the horses."

"Alright. Dale said you were thinking about leaving?" Rick questioned.

"Uh... maybe. I'll definitely spend the night."

"... I would appreciate it if you stayed," Rick spoke, as Grace came up to him and nudged him playfully.

* * *

After finishing up grooming, Harry picked up the saddlebags, cast a disillusionment charm on Flint's wings and headed back up to the camp. Rick and Carl had taken off a few minutes ago, with Rick scooping up the bag with guns.

Harry had just grabbed out a curry comb just as the two were leaving when he saw Rick look back at him with a peculiar expression. Harry didn't quite know what that look meant seeing as he didn't know Rick very well but he could have sworn that it was a look that he had seen before with muggle born parents at Kings Cross station. A little apprehensive but mostly relief for finally finding out where their kid belonged. Like the parents didn't know what they were sending their kids to but they had faith in the teacher that had first come to visit them. Harry had shrugged and filed it away for later.

Harry bypassed the pack of kids, noting the group of cars that were parked around the entrance, and spotted a clear enough area that would be enough for his tent and for the horses. There was a rather big tent near the edge of the camp where he could see an older woman and who was presumably her daughter. They were reading a book together.

"Is this spot taken?" Harry called out, loudly but not too loudly. Merle's tent was pitched nearby and he really didn't want to annoy him, regardless of the fact that Merle knew what he could do. There was also another tent right next to Merle's, one that was smaller.

The older woman looked up and he saw her eyes widen then soften when the younger girl gasped.

"It's not taken. Go ahead. I'm Carol. This is my daughter Sophia."

Harry led the horses toward the area and plopped the saddlebags over to one side. "I'm Harry."

"Mom..." Sophia whispered, frequently glancing at Flint.

Harry saw Sophia point directly at one of Flint's wings and his eyes widened.

"What is it, Sophia?" Carol asked, peering down at her daughter.

"He... Your horse has wings," Sophia murmured then backed up until she was almost behind Carol. Harry narrowed his eyes at the little girl's body language, how her arms were wrapped around her small body then he did a double take when he realized what she had said.

He stared, his jaw dropping, at Sophia briefly before glancing at Carol. "What... who..."

Carol studied him then looked at the horses then over at the RV. Harry followed her gaze to the big man that was sitting atop the vehicle.

"I'm a squib," Carol whispered.

"You're a squib..." Harry trailed off, glancing at Sophia. "Then she's..."

"Yeah, she's a witch."


	5. Chapter 5

"You're... a squib?" Harry asked quietly, looking in between Sophia and Carol.

Carol shuddered, seemed to shrink into herself. "Yeah?"

Harry winced, dropped both horse's lead lines and sat down in front of Carol. Sophia wandered over to stand in front of Flint, who whickered quietly and lowered his head to sniff her. Grace came over to the girl too and sniffed around. "I have absolutely nothing against squibs. You have my respect."

Carol glanced up to him, raised an eyebrow.

Harry narrowed his eyes, only now seeing the black eye around Carol's right eye. "If you ever need help, just ask."

"Are you sure about that?" Carol murmured.

"You may have heard about me," Harry remarked then shrugged. "You may not have. I don't particularly care whether or not you know what I did, but I knew a squib. She took care of me when my... family couldn't."

Carol stared at him, raised an eyebrow. Harry watched as her eyes traveled up to his forehead and his scar. "You said your name was Harry?"

"Yeah."

"Harry... as in Harry Potter?"

"Precisely. So you have heard of me then."

Carol nodded, smiling as they heard Sophia giggle. Flint had moved one of his invisible wings to ruffle her hair. "I heard my parents talk about you a little. They didn't really..."

Harry watched as she trailed off, her shoulders dropping. "We don't have to talk about your parents, if you don't want to. Sophia... does she have any training?"

Carol shook her head. "I just know she's a witch because of her accidental magic. It's... She... I guess she apparated into my room one night to get away from..."

Carol glanced over to the man on top of the RV again then back to Harry. "She's apparated, is all I know."

Harry nodded, filing away the information in his mind that these two had been more than likely abused by the guy on top of the RV. "Okay, does that mean that she doesn't have a wand?"

"No, she doesn't. I don't know exactly how to... go get one. Especially... now," Carol murmured then peered at him. "Would you mind... teaching her?"

"Sure, I haven't met any other wizard here yet. And I've some experience teaching others so it shouldn't be too hard. Leave the wand part to me. I'll see about getting her one."

"Thank you," Carol muttered, staring down at one of her wrists. Harry followed her gaze and narrowed his eyes at the black and red bruises on her skin.

"I have something for those," Harry offered quietly. "Let me set up my tent first."

* * *

"Dinner's ready," a younger, light brown haired woman called out, coming over to stand in front of the tent that Harry had pitched. The horses were roped together and were munching on their dinner. Flint had propped one of his wings on Grace's back, the tips of the feathers curling restlessly. "I'm Amy, Andrea's sister. I never introduced myself."

"I'm Harry," he replied then gestured to the horses. "Flint and Grace, respectively."

Amy smiled and held out her hand to Grace. The non-winged horse sniffed her hand then drew back to continue eating. "Well, like I said, dinner's ready if you want to eat with us."

"Sure, let me finish putting away the grooming tools then I'll come join you guys."

He watched Amy walk off, back to the fire pit that everyone was gathering around and dropped the towel that he was using to dry Flint's feathers onto the ground. He laid a kiss on the horse's forehead, ruffled Grace's mane and wandered over to the fire pit. Everyone was already gathered around it, some close to the fire while others like Carol, Sophia and Ed were farther away. Merle had still not spoken out about Harry's magic and he was starting to feel uneasy about it. The guy had seemed like the type to tell everyone about Harry but apparently not. Harry had noticed that Merle's tent was a few feet away from another tent and that they had shared a smaller fire pit. Like they were the outcasts of the group or something but still on the edges of it. If Merle regularly acted like he had up on that roof, then Harry understood why.

Rick, Lori and Carl were all bundled up together, still clinging onto each other. Carl was still smiling even a few hours after the small family had reunited. Harry could see that the kid was also glancing over at Flint occasionally, grinning widely.

"Hey." Harry nodded at Rick and Glenn while putting some beans and apples on his plate. There was a little breeze going through the camp, the fire swaying with it and blowing embers out into the stones that were around the fire.

They were halfway through dinner when Harry heard hoofbeats coming up behind him. He rolled his eyes but shrugged, he enjoyed having Flint curl around him at night. It kept him plenty warm.

"Harry?"

Harry chuckled and glanced at Glenn. "Yeah, he likes to get out of his pen sometimes."

Flint breathed on Harry for a minute before settling down, curling around the wizard and wrapping an invisible warm wing around him. Harry smiled and leaned back into the horse's warmth and pulled out one of his last sugar cubes as Flint snaked his head around to nose through his shirt. Grace had also come, tugged over by the rope around her neck. She stood next to Harry and Flint, breathing quietly and slowly. It looked like she had finally calmed down.

"You are so spoiled," Harry muttered, handing Flint the sugar. The winged horse whinnied happily, keeping it quiet as Harry had first told him when all of this had started. When Harry had discovered that sound had drawn the dead.

Glenn turned to look at him then at Flint, who reached his head over and nosed at Glenn's shirt. Glenn twitched a little but let the horse do what he wanted. "He's not going to bite me, is he?"

"No, he's not. I've trained him better than that," Harry said, ending in an almost reproachful voice as Flint flicked an ear back. The winged horse seemed to stare at Glenn a moment before returning to lay his head in Harry's lap.

"Flint didn't shy away from the car alarm as we were driving on the highway. How?"

Harry grinned. "Trade secret."

"You just put big ear plugs in their ears, didn't you?" Glenn asked.

"In a manner of speaking, yes."

"You Brits are weird, you know that?" Glenn teased.

Harry smiled a little. "Yeah. Weird probably fits me."

"You and your horse must be close," Rick commented, after a while. "Allowing him to lie down next to you like that."

"I raised him," Harry replied, glancing at where Sophia and Carol were. Ed was just getting up to build up their own fire. The guy that was sitting across from Rick, Lori and Carl was watching Ed and Harry turned to look at Carol's husband. The fire that Ed had built was growing higher which a bad idea in this situation. Shane, Rick's friend's name, seemed to think it was a bad idea too. Harry stared between the men and sighed, whispering a quiet charm. The fire lowered to the ground, mostly going out but still providing a little warmth and light. "So we're close, yeah."

Ed stared at the fire, a little bewildered, but then turned to glare at Carol and Sophia. Harry was about to get up but then Flint stood up and moved, pulling Grace with him. The two horses shuffled over to stand over Sophia and Carol. Harry could see one of Flint's still invisible wings moving to curl around Sophia, who grinned, eyes lighting up. Harry smiled too, seeing Ed loose any motivation to do something to either Carol or Sophia when Flint slightly raised a hoof in threat. Flint had probably picked up on Sophia's magic and had smelled something.

When Harry had accidentally brought Flint home with him to the Dursleys, Flint had done the same. Just stood next to him protectively. Madam Maxine had said something about the bonding spell that connected horse and human, something that would make the winged horse a lot more protective over him.

Glenn stared at Harry for another minute, eying his sword then Flint briefly.

"Where'd you get that sword?" Glenn asked, more than a little curious.

Harry stiffened then purposefully relaxed. "That is a long story."

Glenn raised an eyebrow. "So it's yours?"

"More or less," Harry replied idly, noting Shane turn to look at him.

"What's that suppose to mean?" Glenn asked, tilting his head.

Harry considered Glenn for a minute before frowning. "It means it's mine, to make a long story short. There was another man who had it but he... died."

Glenn's eyes widened and he took a small step back from him.

Harry shook his head. "No, that doesn't... The guy who had it before me was a friend. I didn't... I didn't kill him to take it, I swear. I don't kill the living, thank you very much."

Everyone was silent for a few minutes after that, seeming to absorb that.

"Where'd you learn to use a sword?" Carl asked, pulling away from Lori's hug.

"Uh... I had a teacher back in my school who was very paranoid," Harry remarked, snorting at the memory. "He made me learn how to properly use a sword."

"That must have been some school," the older, slightly bald man said. "I'm Dale."

Harry watched as Carl stood up and moved over to sit next to him.

"Could I see it?" Carl asked, staring at the sword that was leaning against the log that Harry was sitting on.

"Carl..." Lori trailed off, narrowing her eyes.

Harry nodded, picking up Griffindor's sword and unsheathing it. He whispered another charm, one to protect Carl's hands from the basilisk blood that still stuck to it. "Sure. Just be careful, alright? I don't want to have to heal an accidental sword wound tonight."

Carl grinned and took it gingerly, eyes lit up with awe. "Cool..."

Harry turned to look at Dale and nodded, keeping one eye on Carl. "Nice to meet you. I take it you already know who I am?"

"Yes, I do. Word travels fast in this camp," Dale replied, smiling a little. "You said 'heal'? Are you a doctor?"

"Yeah, I am. So if any of you get injured, just call out for me. I'll come running."

"Do you know what caused... this?" Amy asked hesitantly.

"Can you heal these people?" Lori questioned. "The ones that are affected?"

"No. I can't do anything. This... whatever it is evades even me."

* * *

As soon as everyone finished dinner, Harry stood around idly. It was already pretty dark and the stars were just starting to come out. He glanced over to where Merle had settled and sighed. Flint lightly nudged his shoulder and Harry glared at him. "Go back to your dinner, Flint. I'll be back in a few minutes."

Flint stared at him, breathed out a horsey sigh then trotted back to the tent and where there was a bucket filled with water. Grace followed him obligingly and as soon as Harry saw them settle, he moved over to stand in front of Merle's camp.

"So... about earlier," Harry started.

Merle stood up, after putting the gun he had been cleaning on the log he was sitting on. "There a reason why we're talking?"

"I did some magic in front of you. I just want to make sure you're not going to do anything stupid."

Merle glared at him. "My brother and I knew earlier."

Harry raised an eyebrow. "Knew?"

"My brother has a hunting partner. We ain't stupid."

"That means nothing to me but whatever. Can your brother's hunting partner do magic too?"

"Nah. But he's a damn good partner."

* * *

Once the horses were dozing, Harry wandered into his tent and unsheathed his sword, using some magic to clean it in a few seconds. The walker blood vanished and Harry wiped down the sword with a clean cloth. He put his sword by his bedroll and lay down for a minute or two. The walkers unnerved even him and even though he had magic and his sword, he didn't think... He only had the sword of Griffindor because it had stayed with Neville after the war.

A few months into the world ending, it had appeared in his tent and Harry had sat there stunned. It had taken him a few minutes to realize what that had meant and then he had cried into Flint's neck for a good hour after that. To loose... Harry wiped a few tears away from his eyes, took a few deep breaths and settled in for the night.


	6. Chapter 6

"Have you seen any other wizards or witches?" Harry asked as he stood across from Carol the next morning. Sophia and Carl were playing in the woods near the camp, out of sight of him, but he could sense Sophia's aura and had cast a monitoring charm on the two kids. Dale was on watch so other than that, he figured that if they were in any danger, he would be able to sense it. Or Flint would let him know.

"No," Carol muttered, as she ironed a few sets of clothes. "I… there weren't a lot in my hometown anyway. And my mom and dad had moved to be closer to the wizarding community in Atlanta."

Harry narrowed his eyes at that but sighed and glanced over to where Carol's husband was. He turned to look at the two horses next and saw that they were just finished eating. Flint had consented to eating hay and had surprisingly liked it, judging by his excited whinnies. He glanced over to where Lori was hanging clothes on a clothespin and heard movement closer to where her and Rick's tent was. Harry nodded to the other man when he came out of tent then turned back to Carol.

"So there is one in Atlanta then."

Carol nodded. "I just don't know where it is."

"I'll have to make a run into the city," Harry replied thoughtfully.

"Do you know where it is?" Carol asked, raising an eyebrow. "I thought you were from London?"

"I… don't know where it is but I think I'll be able to find it," Harry responded. "I'll just fly over Atlanta and see where all the magic is located."

"That sounds like it would take a while," Carol said quietly.

"Hopefully, it won't take more than a few hours to find it. Maybe..." Harry trailed off as they all heard a scream from one of the kids. Carol instantly yelled back, heading to where the kids were playing.

"Sophia!"

"Carl!"

Harry raced off, pulling his wand from its' holster at his wrist. He dodged the few bushes and rocks as Carol, Amy, Andrea Lori, Dale, Shane, and Rick raced over to the same location.

The kids had instantly went to their respective mothers and Harry glanced down at Carl, looked him over then strode over to where the others had gone. He glanced back at Sophia, already knowing she was okay, but needing to make sure. She was entirely folded into Carol's arms and crying quietly. The small bit of forest surrounding the camp opened up into a small clearing with a big boulder on one side and a dead buck in the center.

A walker was chewing on the entrails of the deer and the other men surrounded it. The undead creature turned when it finally heard them and Harry pulled out his wand and muttered the one unforgivable curse that he had gotten really familiar with in the past few months. A green light shot from his wand and hit the walker dead on. He felt as the resultant energy was pulled from him and he took a deep breath.

He tried to not use the killing curse too much, as it took a lot of energy and will to use it. Often enough in the past few months, he would just use a cutting curse or a rightly aimed blasting charm. He took a deep breath then turned to look at the others.

Rick, Shane, Amy, Andrea and Dale all stared at him as the walker slumped over dead. Only one man in that group knew what he was. The others he had just met last night and he wasn't so sure how they would react. Harry stared back, shrugged. "What?! Dead is dead in my book. It doesn't matter how you kill them."

"What was that?" Shane questioned. "That green light?"

Harry stared at Shane briefly and grinned a little. "Trade secret."

Amy snorted.

"It ain't going to get us killed, is it?" Shane asked, taking a step toward Harry and seeming to tighten his hold on his shotgun. "I think we have a right to know."

"I will let you know when I think you should know," Harry replied, crossing his arms.

"We haven't seen a walker this close up the hill," Dale remarked after a minute or two to break up the brewing argument. "Not since we all got here."

"They must be heading out of the cities," Jim said, still holding his chosen weapon in his hands.

Harry watched as Amy and Andrea wrinkled their noses at the long dead corpse and turn around. He had to agree with them. The walkers did smell disgusting. He was about to turn around and head back to the horses when he heard a growl. He stiffened and tightened his grip on his wand when he heard it again. He then realized that the noise wasn't coming from a walker.

"Oh, Jesus," Shane muttered, finally taking his eyes off of Harry to look over to where the growl had come from.

"Shane?" Rick asked, raising an eyebrow.

"It's not a walker. It's just Daryl with his wolf."

Harry looked at Shane briefly before turning to look to where the sounds of footsteps were coming from. A man with short, light brown hair had just come around the big boulder at one side of the clearing, carrying a crossbow and a string of dead squirrels. Harry watched him stop before the buck and examine the animal before starting to kick it.

"Son of a bitch! That's my deer!"

Harry tuned out what the guy was doing to return his focus to what had just come behind the man. A big, light brown wolf had apparently followed the man with the crossbow. And it wasn't just a regular, wild wolf. It was a werewolf. No wild wolves were that large or tall enough to reach up to Harry's waist.

He heard everyone else take a few steps back except the man with the crossbow. The wolf peered up at him and started to growl.

"Hey!"

Harry turned to look at who he figured to be Daryl, Merle's brother. "This is your hunting partner?"

Daryl stared at him then at the large wolf. Harry watched as the other man walked over to stand alongside the wolf. "Yeah, what's it to you?"

The werewolf in wolf form continued to growl. Harry cautiously looked into its' eyes and his own eyes widened. The wolf's eyes were light green, a familiar green. The wolf tilted its' head and stopped growling only to take a step toward Harry, appearing to take a deep breath.

"Harry?"

Harry turned to look back at Rick, who had hesitantly stepped over to stand alongside him. Shane and the others had left, probably to go back to the campsite.

"I'm okay. I think. Moony?"

The wolf peered over to Rick, growled a little, but took another step closer to Harry.

"You have a pet wolf?" Rick asked, looking over to Daryl.

Daryl snorted. "He ain't my pet. He's my partner."

The wolf seemed to huff out an irritated breath, taking offense to being called a pet. Harry closed the distance between them and kneeled, crouching to be at eye level with the wolf. The wolf's eyes were looking at him fondly but also a little confusedly. "Moony, is that you in there?"

The wolf's tail wagged for a second then it growled again. Harry raised an eyebrow then started as the wolf backed up and took a few steps to stand next to Daryl.

Harry raised an eyebrow but stood back up and turned to look at Daryl. "How long has he been with you?"

Daryl narrowed his eyes. "What's that suppose to mean?"

"You know normal wolves aren't that big, right?" Harry asked.

"I ain't stupid. I know he's not a real wolf," Daryl replied, placing his free hand on the wolf's back. Harry wasn't exactly sure whether or not the wolf was actually his surrogate godfather but then again, those green eyes… The last time Harry had seen Remus' wolf form, it had been that same stilted wolf creature that Remus had changed into in Harry's third year. It hadn't been anything like a real, actual wolf.

"What are you guys talking about?" Rick questioned, looking in between the two men and occasionally glancing to the large wolf. "Is that a..."

"Yeah, that's a werewolf," Harry finished. "I think it's someone I knew."

"Has he ever… changed shape?" Harry asked after a minute or two.

Daryl shook his head.

Harry stared at the wolf, more than a little bewildered.

Daryl looked at him, down at the wolf, then started to walk back to the campsite. The wolf didn't even hesitate in following Daryl. Harry watched as it walked by him and Rick then sighed.

"You think it's someone you knew?" Rick repeated, crossing his arms.

"I don't know. There was a little familiarity in his eyes but..."

"But?"

"You heard him growl at me," Harry said, running a hand through his hair. "Maybe… The last time I saw my surrogate godfather was a few months ago, when this whole thing started. Maybe something happened."

Rick raised an eyebrow. "Surrogate godfather?"

"My godfather and the person whom I suspect is Daryl's wolf were… involved," Harry explained. "I considered Remus my surrogate godfather. We got split up when all… this happened and the world went to shit."

"So… werewolves?"

Harry chuckled as Rick gestured that they go back to the camp. "Yep, werewolves are real and so many other creatures."

"Was your godfather a wizard too?"

"Yeah, but he's gone," Harry replied as they stopped at the edge of the camp. He could see Daryl sitting down at the firepit, skinning the squirrels that he had killed. The big wolf was lying down right next to him, panting in the heat. Merle was standing across from him, grumbling about people and former cops. "He died several years ago and now… everyone's separated."

"I don't even know if my friends are alive or if my godson's alive."


End file.
